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Who is Merope ?

So you are curious about Merope… Well so was I, and so am I.

The journey is on-going and I am on a continuous voyage of discovery! Before you proceed with your reading, Let me say this to you ….. It has “come through” that saying the name/word “Merope” out-loud and correctly is very important. It carries a frequency that is needed especially by the person who has difficulty saying the name correctly! All I know is that this is important, and perhaps that is why I am here, just to carry the name. What a privilege! I am so blessed, I am grateful, Thank You!

About 1996 to 1998 I seemed to have begun thinking a lot about the name Merope. I really cannot tell you where or when or why exactly I became aware of this new thought. It was just there. I was fascinated with the way it sounded and felt. My two sons have never expressed any interest in learning what I know, nor have any of my various nieces or nephews. In fact, I suspect that I am viewed as a ‘weirdo’ in my family because of my dowsing abilities, and my interest in all things natural, healing modalities, new age, or interests in metaphysics. Some of my family has even disassociated themselves from me because of some wrong notions they have about me. This usually revolves around my rejection of organized religion. My sons haven’t, but they just don’t appear, at least at this time, to have any curiosity or inclination to learn about the information I know.

I am beginning to get older (at least in Earth years) and I am really wishing that I had someone who would be willing to become a sort of apprentice or be at least willing to learn some of the techniques that I have learned over my many years of practicing the healing arts. I reasoned that a granddaughter would be nice, and that I would name my granddaughter Merope. My sons, are aged 47 and 44 years old, so this possibility didn’t seem that remote to me. However when I began to voice my wishes, I was immediately and in no uncertain terms advised that there would be NO grandchildren and in the unlikely event that there was a grandchild, I would not be given the option of naming the child Merope. So now I had to rethink who was going to get this name. And why was I so fascinated with someone having the name Merope.

By May – June 2006 I was feeling more and more that someone needed to be Merope. I began to think maybe I could be. Changing my name had never even occurred to me before that point. At the end of July 2006, I distinctly had the sensation that I was to call myself Merope. This was done with very little forethought or planning. A stranger asked my name and out popped Merope.

In August 2006, I attended a Sweat Lodge Ceremony. It was the most life-changing event I have ever taken part in. The experience was both magnificent and terrifying at the same time. Without going into details, I experienced the death of my previous ego and allowed the energy of Merope to enter my body. I received a feeling that this was to be a positive and wonderful transformation, which would occur over the next 8 moons. The actual experience was not and has not always been pleasant though. And at times – it is still not! Lots of dizziness, a feeling of floating, being disconnected. I even get nauseous a lot of the time. Twice now I have been ‘flattened’ as I have the sensation that I am being blasted with frequencies. I often see shapes, geometrics, writings, and magnificent colors. I do know that Merope is here to assist in the ascension process, and to help in the healing and raising of energies of people who are required to get there.

When I finally had the thought to do a google search of the name Merope, I was confronted with tons of information around the name. What prompted this was the fascination of people when I give my name. Most ask me what it means. I didn’t know, thus the search. So here is the result of the search on the internet. There are eighteen pages of information that I have picked and chosen to cut and paste. So if you are still curious read on. Otherwise, check back every once in awhile and maybe I will have added to this story.

Should be interesting!
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MEROPE was one of the seven Pleiad Nymph daughters of the Titan Atlas . She married the mortal king Sisyphos, and by him became the ancestress of the Korinthian and Lykian royal families.

Merope was said to have been so shamed by her husband’s crimes against the gods that she refused to show her face in the heaven, and so the seventh star of the Pleiades faded from human sight.

ME′ROPE (Meropê). A daughter of Atlas, one of the Pleiades, and the wife of Sisyphus of Corinth, by whom she became the mother of Glaucus.
In the constellation of the Pleiades she is the seventh and the least visible star, because she is ashamed of having had intercourse with a mortal man. (Apollod. i. 9. § 3, iii. 10. 1; Ov. Fast. iv. 175; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1155; Serv. ad Virg. Geory. i. 138; comp. Hom. Il. vi. 154; Schol. ad Pind. Nom. ii. 16.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. C19th Classics Encyclopedia.

Merope, whom glorious Atlas begot.” – Hesiod, The Astronomy Frag 1 (from Scholiast on Pindar’s Nemean Ode 2.12)

“Sisyphos settled Ephyra and married Merope, the daugher of Atlas. To them was born a son Glaukos.” – Apollodorus, The Library 1.85

“To Atlas and Okeanos’ daughter Pleione were born (on Arkadian Kyllene) seven daughters called the Pleiades, whose names are Alkyone, Merope … Sisyphos married Merope.” – Apollodorus, The Library 3.110

“Thersander, the son of Sisyphos [presumably his mother was Merope, though not stated so here].” – Pausanias, Guide to Greece 9.34.7

“The Pleiades are called seven in number, but only six can be seen. This reason has been advanced, that of the seven, six mated with immortals (three with Jove, two with Neptunus, and one with Mars); the seventh was said to have been the wife of Sisyphus … Merope, wed to Sisyphus, bore Glaucus, who, as many say, was the father of Bellerophon. On account of her other sisters she was placed among the constellations, but because she married a mortal, her star is dim.” – Hyginus, Astronomica 2.21

“Atlas by Pleione or an Oceanitide had twelve daughters … Their names are as follows: Electra, Alcyone, Celaeno, Merope … Of these, they say Electra does not appear, because of the death of Dardanus and the loss of Troy. Others think that Merope appears to blush because she had a mortal as husband, though the others had gods. Driven from the band of her sisters because of this, she wears her hair long in grief, and is called a comet, or ‘longodes’ because she trails out for a long distance [Greek ‘longodes’ means ‘spear-shaped’, not ‘long’, an error of Hyginus], or ‘xiphias’ because she shows the shape of a sword-point. This star, too, portends grief.” – Hyginus, Fabulae 192

“The Pleiades will start relieving their sire’s [Atlas’] shoulders. Called seven, they are usually six, wither because six of them entered a god’s embrace … the seventh, Merope, wed you, mortal Sisyphus, she regrets it, and hides alone in shame).” – Ovid, Fasti 4.169

Sources:

Hesiod, The Astronomy – Greek Epic C8th-7th BC

Apollodorus, The Library – Greek Mythography C2nd BC

Pausanias, Guide to Greece – Greek Geography C2nd AD

Hyginus, Fabulae – Latin Mythography C2nd AD

Hyginus, Astronomica – Latin Mythography C2nd AD

Ovid, Fasti – Latin Epic C1st BC – C1st AD

The Pleiades are a prominent sight in the Northern Hemisphere in winter and in the Southern Hemisphere in summer, and have been known since antiquity to cultures all around the world, including the Māori and Australian Aborigines, the Japanese and the Sioux of North America. Some Greek astronomers considered them to be a distinct constellation, and they are mentioned by Hesiod, and in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. They are also mentioned three times in the Bible (Job 9:9, 38:31; Amos 5:8). The Pleiades (Kartika) are particularly revered in Hindu mythology as the seven mothers of the war god Skanda.

They have long been known to be a physically related group of stars rather than any chance alignment. The Reverend John Michell calculated in 1767 that the probability of a chance alignment of so many bright stars was only 1 in 500,000, and so correctly surmised that the Pleiades and many other clusters of stars must be physically related [1]. When studies were first made of the stars’ proper motions, it was found that they are all moving in the same direction across the sky, at the same rate, further demonstrating that they were related.

Charles Messier measured the position of the cluster and included it as M45 in his catalogue of comet-like objects, published in 1771. Along with the Orion Nebula and the Praesepe cluster, Messier’s inclusion of the Pleiades has been noted as curious, as most of Messier’s objects were much fainter and more easily confused with comets—something which seems scarcely possible for the Pleiades. One possibility is that Messier simply wanted to have a larger catalogue than his scientific rival Lacaille, whose 1755 catalogue contained 42 objects, and so he added some bright, well-known objects to boost his list[2].
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Distance

The distance to the Pleiades is an important step in calibrating distance scales for the whole universe, and has been estimated by many methods. As the cluster is so close to the Earth, its distance is relatively easy to measure. Accurate knowledge of the distance allows astronomers to plot a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram for the cluster which, when compared to those plotted for clusters whose distance is not known, allows their distances to be estimated. Other methods can then extend the distance scale from open clusters to galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and a cosmic distance ladder can be constructed. Ultimately astronomers’ understanding of the age and future evolution of the universe is influenced by their knowledge of the distance to the Pleiades.

Results prior to the launch of the Hipparcos satellite generally found that the Pleiades were about 135 parsecs away from Earth. Hipparcos caused consternation among astronomers by finding a distance of only 118 parsecs by measuring the parallax of stars in the cluster—a technique which should yield the most direct and accurate results. Later work has consistently found that the Hipparcos distance measurement for the Pleiades was in error, but it is not yet known why the error occurred [3]. The distance to the Pleiades is currently thought to be the higher value of about 135 parsecs [4], [5].

Composition

X-ray images of the Pleiades reveal the stars with the hottest atmospheres. Green squares indicate the seven optically brightest stars.

The cluster is about 12 light years in diameter and contains approximately 500 stars in total. It is dominated by young, hot blue stars, up to 14 of which can be seen with the naked eye depending on local observing conditions. The arrangement of the brightest stars is somewhat similar to Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The total mass contained in the cluster is estimated to be about 800 solar masses[6].

The cluster contains many brown dwarfs — objects with less than about 8% of the Sun’s mass, which are not heavy enough for nuclear fusion reactions to start in their cores and become proper stars. They may constitute up to 25% of the total population of the cluster, although they contribute less than 2% of the total mass [7]. Astronomers have made great efforts to find and analyse brown dwarfs in the Pleiades and other young clusters, because they are still relatively bright and observable, while brown dwarfs in older clusters have faded and are much more difficult to study.

Also present in the cluster are several white dwarfs. Given the young age of the cluster normal stars are not expected to have had time to evolve into white dwarfs, a process which normally takes several billion years. It is believed that, rather than being individual low- to intermediate-mass stars, the progenitors of the white dwarfs must have been high-mass stars in binary systems. Transfer of mass from the higher-mass star to its companion during its rapid evolution would result in a much quicker route to the formation of a white dwarf.

Age and future evolution

Ages for star clusters can be estimated by comparing the H-R diagram for the cluster with theoretical models of stellar evolution, and using this technique, ages for the Pleiades of between 75 and 150 million years have been estimated. The spread in estimated ages is a result of uncertainties in stellar evolution models. In particular, models including a phenomenon known as convective overshoot, in which a convective zone within a star penetrates an otherwise non-convective zone, result in higher apparent ages.

Another way of estimating the age of the cluster is by looking at the lowest-mass objects. In normal main sequence stars, lithium is rapidly destroyed in nuclear fusion reactions, but brown dwarfs can retain their lithium. Due to its very low ignition temperature of 2.5 million kelvins, the highest-mass brown dwarfs will burn lithium eventually, and so determining the highest mass of brown dwarfs still containing lithium in the cluster can give an idea of its age. Applying this technique to the Pleiades gives an age of about 115 million years[8][9].

Like most open clusters, the Pleiades will not stay gravitationally bound forever, as some component stars will be ejected after close encounters and others will be stripped by tidal gravitational fields. Calculations suggest that the cluster will take about 250 million years to disperse, with gravitational interactions with giant molecular clouds and the spiral arms of the galaxy also hastening its demise.

Reflection nebulosity

Hubble Space Telescope image of reflection nebulosity near Merope

Under ideal observing conditions, some hint of nebulosity may be seen around the cluster, and this shows up in long-exposure photographs. It is a reflection nebula, caused by dust reflecting the blue light of the hot, young stars.

It was formerly thought that the dust was left over from the formation of the cluster, but at the age of about 100 million years generally accepted for the cluster, almost all the dust originally present would have been dispersed by radiation pressure. Instead, it seems that the cluster is simply passing through a particularly dusty region of the interstellar medium.

Studies show that the dust responsible for the nebulosity is not uniformly distributed, but is concentrated mainly in two layers along the line of sight to the cluster. These layers may have been formed by deceleration due to radiation pressure as the dust has moved towards the stars[10].

Names and technical information
A map of the Pleiades
The nine brightest stars of the Pleiades are named for the Seven Sisters of Greek mythology: Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygete, Celaeno and Alcyone, along with their parents Atlas and Pleione. As daughters of Atlas, the Hyades were sisters of the Pleiades. The name of the cluster itself is of Greek origin, though of uncertain etymology. Suggested derivations include: from πλεîν plein, to sail, making the Pleiades the “sailing ones”; from pleos, full or many; or from peleiades, flock of doves. The following table gives details of the brightest stars in the cluster:
Star Map

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Indigenous Australians

Depending on the tribe or clan, some Indigenous Australian peoples believed the Pleiades were a woman who had been nearly raped by Kidili, the man in the moon.

Another version, often painted by Gabriella Possum Nungurayyi as this is her dreaming (or creation story), daughter of the late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri from the Central desert art movement of Papunya, depicts the story of seven Napaltjarri sister,s being chased by a man named Jilbi Tjakamarra. He would practise love magic to seduce the sisters but they had no intention of being with him and ran away. They sat down at Uluru to search for honey ants but when they saw Jilbi, they went to Kurlunyalimpa and with the spirits of Uluru, transformed into stars. Jilbi transforms himself into what is commonly known as the Morning Star in Orion’s belt, thus continuing to chase the seven sisters across the sky. (Source: Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery)

Native Americans

The Sioux of North America had a legend that linked the origin of the Pleiades to Devils Tower. It was common among the indigenous peoples of the Americas to measure keenness of vision by the number of stars the viewer could see in the Pleiades, a practice which was also used in historical Europe, especially in Greece.

In Japan, the Pleiades are known as Subaru, a tortoise, and have given their name to the car manufacturer. In Chinese constellations, they are 昴 mao, the hairy head of the white tiger of the West, while the name of the Hindu God Kartikeya means him of the Pleiades.

In Western astrology they represent coping with sorrow [12] and were considered a single one of the medieval fixed stars. As such, they are associated with quartz and fennel. In Indian astrology the Pleiades were known as the asterism (nakshatra) Krittika (which in Sanskrit is translated as “the cutters.”)[13] The Pleiades are called the star of fire, and their ruling deity is the Vedic god Agni, the god of the sacred fire. It is one of the most prominent of the nakshatras, and is associated with anger and stubbornness.

The word has acquired a meaning of “multitude”, inspiring the name of the French literary movement La Pléiade and an earlier group of Alexandrian poets, the Alexandrian Pleiad.
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Merope

by Kate Forshey, Clarksville Middle School

A Greek mythological figure, Merope is one of the seven Pleiades, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. The Pleiades were virgin companions of Artemis. Merope lived on Chios, and was often pursued by Orion. Merope did not love Orion and married a mortal, Sisyphus/

Orion also pursued Alcyone, Electra, Celaeno, Sterope, and Taygete, the other Pleiades and their mother. One time they prayed to the gods for rescue. The gods answered by turning them into doves and later into stars. Zeus placed them in the sky where they now form part of the constellation, Taurus. Since Merope married a mortal, she became the faintest star.
Merope

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In Greek mythology, several unrelated women went by the name Merope (bee-mask later reinterpreted as honey-like or eloquent), which may, therefore, have denoted a position in the cult of the Great Mother rather than a mere individual’s name:

Merope, one of the Heliades

Merope, foster mother of Oedipus, wife of Polybus

Merope, one of the Oceanids, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, mother of Phaeton by Helios or Clymenus

Merope, one of the Pleiades, she married a mortal, Sisyphus, and was thus the faintest star in the star cluster that bears their name. With Sisyphus, she had one son: Glaucus.

Merope of Khios, consort/daughter of Oenopion, linked with Orion (q.v.) who fell in love with Merope but Oenopion did not want the marriage to happen. Orion raped Merope. For revenge, Oenopion got Orion drunk and stabbed out his eyes, then cast him into the sea. Hephaestus took pity on the blind Orion and gave him a young boy as a guide. The boy guided him east, where the rising sun restored Orion’s sight. Orion then decided to kill Oenopion, but Hephaestus had built the king an underground chamber. Orion couldn’t find the king and went to Delos, where Artemis slew him.